My wife and I live in California, and were planning to attend a wedding in Key West. Since we had a significant (and about to expire!) RCI credit from a Mediterranean cruise where half the ports were canceled due to weather, the Panama Canal cruise was an easy choice.

Embarkation in San Diego was much easier than in our prior experiences in Europe. Having booked balcony and ocean-view rooms before, we went with the interior room this time, and actually liked it just as much or better (my wife prefers absolute darkness for sleeping).

Having cruised on the Brilliance a year earlier, the ship's layout was familiar, and we actually preferred it to the larger Navigator in terms of how easy it is to get around. Read more